{"id":228,"date":"2016-12-05T19:28:59","date_gmt":"2016-12-05T19:28:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/specialcollections\/?p=228"},"modified":"2019-01-18T09:52:16","modified_gmt":"2019-01-18T09:52:16","slug":"eighteenth-century-newspaper-collection-at-armagh-public-library","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/specialcollections\/eighteenth-century-newspaper-collection-at-armagh-public-library\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cRead all about it!\u201d Notes on an Annotated 18th Century Newspaper Collection at Armagh Public Library"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr Michael O’Connor of QUB Special Collections reflects on an idiosyncratic Eighteenth-Century Newspaper Collection<\/em><\/p>\n

Recently, I had the good fortune to be invited by Armagh Public Library<\/a> to visit and consult their eighteenth-century Irish newspaper collection. I had the pleasure of meeting the Dean of Armagh, the very Reverend Gregory Dunstan and staff at the Library, including Carol Conlin, and I\u2019m very grateful for the hospitality and assistance I received during an extremely memorable visit. My thanks are also due to Dr. Sally Montgomery for arranging this in the first instance. Aside from their unfailing graciousness, the visit proved especially significant since I had the opportunity to peruse a seldom consulted, but rather considerable, treasure of Irish printed newspapers.<\/p>\n

The Library is blessed in its holdings of an appealing assortment of newspapers spanning the eighteenth century. Many of the titles are Dublin titles; this is hardly surprising owing to the importance of Dublin as a print centre \u2013 dynamic and fertile in terms of its published output throughout the early modern period particularly. As a result the Library holds titles such as The Dublin Evening Post<\/i>, The Dublin Journal, The Dublin Gazette<\/i> and The Dublin Mercury<\/i>. These newspapers will be of obvious interest to scholars of the eighteenth-century period and those investigating Dublin as a print and news hub.<\/p>\n

\"Dublin<\/a>Most notable, however, among the eighteenth-century newspaper holdings is the Henry Irwin collection<\/a>. Substantial \u2013 both in terms of significance and volume \u2013 it is an impressive scrapbook collection that is both thrilling and captivating; it has the potential to enthral all who examine its hefty tomes. It is in remarkably good condition also and cannot fail but astonish, amuse, and interest by its beguiling singularity and the sheer breath of newspaper topics included.<\/p>\n

\"Henry<\/a>
Henry Irwin Collection at Armagh Public Library<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It is evident that the eponymous collector, Irwin (b. 1717) had a fascination with events and newspapers of that period since he amassed, collected and arranged eighteenth-century newspapers in his own personal collection. The collection comprises 6 volumes, 16 newspaper titles and approximately 2200 issues. Irwin\u2019s 6 volume scrapbooks include the following newspaper titles:<\/p>\n

\"Composite<\/a><\/p>\n

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